Denial, Delay, Diversion

Principled humanitarian action is under attack around the world. Globally, 70.8 million people are considered forcibly displaced by armed conflict, and nearly 132 million people need emergency humanitarian assistance. At the same time, there has been a steep escalation in the deliberate, willful obstruction of humanitarian access, impeding the ability of humanitarian aid to reach the most vulnerable people and vice versa. As humanitarian emergencies become increasingly complex and protracted, blocked humanitarian access will only increase without urgent action.

The CSIS Task Force on Humanitarian Access brought together top experts to discuss humanitarian access. These discussions led to the publication of a report and digital feature in September 2019, which call for the United States to elevate humanitarian access as a foreign policy priority and work to reconcile tensions between critical national security measures and the growing needs of vulnerable populations in fragile, conflict-affected states.